Obesity

Obese patients may respond in distinct fashions to pharmacological and other weight loss interventions.

Diana Hoogeboom, former obesity researcher

Obesity is a risk factor for a number of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, COPD, neuro-degenerative disorders, as well as specific forms of cancer.

Individual Approach for Obesity

To develop an individual approach for obesity, one needs new diagnostic tools to subtype obese subjects at a more detailed level than currently done by health care professionals. ATIA’s goal is to develop diagnostic tools for subtyping obese individuals by producing and combining fundamental discoveries in the field of biomedical - and neuropsychological research. ATIA uses artificial intelligence technologies in order to pinpoint the most effective “personalized” therapy.

ATIA's research

ATIA is using methodologies that range from cluster and classification analysis to neural networks, learning paradigms used for analysis and exploration of existing databases. ATIA is also performing prospective longitudinal studies on obese individuals to test specific hypothesis within the research framework as described above. Atia’s research on obesity is focused on subtyping the group of obese people. Atia’s partner in this scientific research is the Obesitaspoli from the MC Zuiderzee hospital in Lelystad.

Participating patients:

Are you a patient at the Obesitaspoli and interested in participating in this scientific research programme? Please consult your doctor at the Obesitaspoli or info@ati-a.nl. For more information, please click here.

Attitudes

In its research, ATIA departs from the differences that individuals show on their general motivational and emotional behavior and attitudes, such as:

Motivation to eat

Food choice

Appetite

Eating habits

Meal size

Timing of meals

These factors are all influenced by motivational and emotional states, rooted in distinct personality traits. However, the underlying mechanisms that determine and regulate eating behavior and motivation in this context are poorly understood.

Causes of Obesity

It is largely unknown how the involved metabolic and neural processes interact with external environmental signals and cause over-eating. ATIA aims to obtain more insight in these interactions to explain overeating and the subsequent development of obesity. These insights will ultimately contribute to the development of more custom-tailored treatment strategies.

Contact

Please send an e-mail to info@ati-a.nl with the subject Obesity for further information about the research and ongoing projects.For the Obesity factsheet click here.For the Obesity poster click here.